The 25 Best iPhone Games

[UPDATED] A great iPhone game could easily get lost amid the relentless onslaught of new releases, but we won't let that happen. Here at MacLife, we keep a constant eye on countless titles to maintain a current list of the 25 best. Enjoy our picks, and don't forget to check back periodically for updates. (For even more iPhone gaming goodness, see our list of The 25 Best Free iPhone Games.)

Threes! ($2.99) is a brilliantly designed number puzzler that tasks you with adding compatible tiles together to continue generating larger sums. Colored one and two tiles add up to three, but multiples of three only merge with each other — and each swipe moves everything on the board, making for some unexpected madness. It’s methodical, challenging, and worthy of obsession.

Previous entries fell a little flat, but Asphalt 8: Airborne (free) finally nails its arcade-style racing design, delivering a flashy and intense driving experience that has you vaulting hundreds of feet off ramps and bashing competitors into barriers. Not only is it the most fun you’ll find on four virtual wheels, but the basic game is free.

Among survival-centric games, the understated Duet ($2.99) is a definite favorite. You control two dots on either side of a circle, tapping to rotate them in one direction or the other as you navigate around obstacles and survive for as long as possible. It gets intensely difficult, but always maintains a Zen sensation thanks to mesmerizing tunes and attractively minimal visuals.

While the original Jungle Run might’ve come off as light and fluffy, Rayman Fiesta Run ($2.99) has teeth — in a very good way. The smartly streamlined tap-based gameplay challenges you to jump, punch, and glide to overcome hazards and make it to each goal, and Fiesta Run is packed with super-tough bonus missions. It’s also gorgeously presented with hand-drawn visuals.

When you think of a text adventure, chances are something as dynamic as Device 6 ($3.99) doesn’t come to mind. Luckily, this gripping spy adventure puts the iPhone display to great use by making its words dance around the frame, and the blend of writing and visuals make for a very compelling quest. It would’ve been a great story in any format, but it soars as an interactive experience.

When is an iPhone game worth $10? When it's an excellent port of one of the best strategy console and computer games of recent years. XCOM: Enemy Unknown ($9.99) is just that, bringing the well-received sci-fi tactical affair to iOS without losing much in translation, and there's a ton of content to explore and enjoy. In many respects, it actually plays best with a touch interface!

Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour ($6.99) doesn't reinvent the Call of Duty-esque first-person shooter, but it does serve up the best-rounded package to date. The campaign is livelier, with punchier and more diverse missions in tow, while the online multiplayer battles deliver additional modes and plenty of great online action. It's derivative, sure, but still plenty of fun.

Seeking an intimidating challenge on the go? Don't miss Impossible Road ($1.99), a thoroughly addictive high-score game in which you're tasked with rolling a ball down an endless, looping path. It really does seem impossible at first to last more than several seconds, but that initial wall gives way to a fervent need to roll farther and farther, plus master "jumping" the track to cut corners.

We usually recommend playing atmospheric games on the larger screen of the iPad, but Limbo ($2.99) is a fantastic experience on any iOS device. This moody, black-and-white puzzle platformer casts you as a young boy in a shadowy world without dialogue or instruction, forcing you to figure out each environmental challenge on your own. It's gripping stuff, and utterly dazzling in its presentation.

Ridiculous Fishing ($2.99) puts a comical spin on the outdoors activity by having you first dodge the fish on the way down before snagging as many as possible while reeling the line in. Once the creatures hit the surface, they fling into the air, where you'll blast them to bits with guns. Gorgeously presented and packed with humor, this original game is absurdly fun and seriously memorable.

Building upon the excellent 2D golf approach of the original, Super Stickman Golf 2 (free) serves up puzzling single-player courses to solve with a club and a ball, as well as speedy online and local multiplayer showdowns. But the sequel also adds a very welcome turn-based asynchronous online option, letting you trade swings with a far-off opponent during the down moments in your day.

Tiny Wings ($0.99) might not feature the best-known birds in the App Store, but it's one of the top iPhone originals. In this side-scrolling, one-touch affair, you build momentum by sliding down hills and launching the flightless bird up the other side, sending him soaring to stay ahead of the setting sun. Bite-sized objectives and leaderboard score chases make it electric. Read our review.

Originally designed for play with a controller, Bastion ($4.99) makes an incredibly graceful transition to iPhone, and the end result is an engrossing, emotional adventure. As one of the last survivors following the Calamity, you'll hack and slash foes against stunning hand-painted backdrops, with incredible audio narration adding impact to your actions. Read our review.

One of the most beloved modern board games is also one of the most obsessively enjoyed iPhone multiplayer titles. Carcassonne ($9.99) is expertly designed to work as either a local turn-based or asynchronous online multiplayer game, wherein players place tiles of land and followers to secure territory. It's also playable individually, and offers optional expansion sets. Read our review.

The sequel to one of the most influential iPhone games of all time, Infinity Blade II (free) only builds upon that iconic action framework, tossing you into gorgeously-rendered duels in which taps and swipes translate into sword slashes and strategic parries. The stunning 3D quest includes plenty of player customization, as well as social challenges and HDMI output support. Read our review.

When the undead apocalypse finally begins, you might hope for a shotgun or a blunt object; but in Plants vs. Zombies ($0.99), all you need are seeds and a bit of strategy. In this unconventional tower defense game, you place pea-shooting plants and organic landmines in the backyard and on rooftops to slow and slay shambling foes. It's cute, colorful, and ingenious. Review

Need a wacky little diversion? Jetpack Joyride (free) is more than up to the task, what with its side-scrolling obstacle course that you navigate via a rocket-powered, bullet-spewing backpack. It's a fast and frenzied affair, and one that requires both skill and creativity to conquer, as you can choose from a wide array of equipment and bonuses to create a combination that matches your play style.

Touchscreen rhythm games that try to recreate Guitar Hero without a controller inevitably fall short, but Groove Coaster ($2.99) charts its own amazing path. Following a winding, roller coaster-esque pathway through dazzling worlds, you'll tap the little beats that appear in time with the thumping original tracks, creating a sensation that's happily unlike any other rhythm game we've played.

The game that kick-started the whole "auto-runner" genre is still one of the absolute best, as Canabalt ($2.99) delivers ample thrills within a tiny, monochromatic package. As a little guy evading what seems to be an alien assault, you tap the screen to leap between rooftops, floors of crumbling skyscrapers, and construction girders, all while the speed consistently amplifies. It's a true classic.

One of the most gripping adventures on any platform, Walking Dead: The Game (free) uses the zombie outbreak as an opportunity to force you to make brutal choices and live with the aftermath. It looks like the comics, but charts its own narrative path independent of the source material, with additional episodes available for purchase (at $4.99 each) that flesh out the story until its gripping conclusion.

Cut the Rope ($2.99) is an enduring iPhone favorite, and for great reason: the devious, physics-based puzzles are tricky but not overwhelming, and with 375 total levels now, it's one heck of a deal. Whether you're slicing strings to guide a piece of candy to the monster or navigating odd portals and other obstacles in the more advanced stages, Cut the Rope continues to compel.

Tower defense has thrived on iPhone thanks to the ability to place and upgrade enemy-slaying towers with a tap of the finger, and Kingdom Rush ($0.99) is our favorite of the bunch. The cartoonish look belies serious strategic depth, as you must use limited resources to buy and smartly enhance the arrow-flinging and bomb-tossing towers, all in an effort to protect your base. It's an absolute blast.

Words with what, now? Letterpress (free) has become our new iPhone vocabulary obsession, as the slick original offering blends creative term creation with unique territorial domination elements. Taking turns working with letters on a 5x5 board with an online opponent, you'll aim to generate new words while claiming tiles for your color, with surrounded ones locking down points in your favor.

Hero Academy (free) shows that the asynchronous, turn-based approach can be used for much more than word and board games, serving up engaging tactical strategy games where players battle it out across a grid. It's plenty enjoyable as a free download, though additional teams and options open up if you drop some coin. Still, it feels nicely balanced despite the microtransactions.

While its price might seem ludicrous, The World Ends With You: Solo Remix ($17.99) is the rare game that can justify such an investment. This upgraded Nintendo DS favorite is a sprawling role-playing epic set in the flashy Tokyo district of Shibuya, and features fantastic artwork and killer tunes, but what really shines here is the lengthy, engaging storyline and stellar combat mechanics.

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